Persona: Torn Velvet
by Darakuji
Summary: A year has passed since Izanami's defeat, and Souji Seta stands upon a new path. Ghosts of the past have returned, and its up to the heroes of the present to combat a new evil, perhaps more devastating than ever. Prepare yourself, Philemon awaits...


Kuji: Greetings fellow Fanfiction readers and authors! :D

This will be my first story ever -le gasp- but I've been playing around the idea for a long time. I'm actually kind of proud of myself for finally getting this sucker typed out. :d

Souji: ...

Kuji: Why did I even invite you? You never talk. =_=

Anyway, this particular story will be pretty epic, so I expect to get quite a few chapters out of it. It'll be from Souji POV, so expect alot of first-person monologues and whatnot. Course, in Souji's case, he might actually be talking to Personas. .

So, enjoy the first chapter, and stay tuned for more! :D

* * *

My name is Souji Seta, and once, about a year ago, I saved the world. I discovered the world inside the TV, filled with fog, shadows, and for two young women, death. I met my friends, my best friends, who stood alongside me as we penetrated the fog of that world, in a search for Truth. I found my hidden power, called Persona, and used it to fight the Shadows in that world. Together with my friends, we defeated Ameno-Saigiri, and Izanami, the ultimate evil that sought the destruction of the world. We defeated her, with only the power of the bonds of friendship we had forged. And then, just like that, we had been separated. My friends stayed behind in Inaba, in that place that had become like home to me, and I left, returning from whence I'd come only a year ago.

We promised that our bonds would hold, no matter how far apart we were, and we kept our promises. I would call or text my friends whenever I could, and they would text me back, or chat on the phone with me for hours. And that was ok. But being so far away from people you cared about that much hurt. It hurt a lot more then I ever thought possible. I would think about Yousuke, and how much I missed his oblivious antics that so often garnered the ire of Chie or Yukiko. I missed Chie's strong attitude, and Yukiko's quiet determination. I missed Kanji, and the rough exterior he used to hide a kind and caring heart. I missed Rise-chan, and her endless bubbly optimism. I missed Nanako, the cousin I had come to love as a little sister, and her Father, Dojima-san, whom I had come to view as a second father. I even missed Teddie, and his incessantly atrocious puns and perverted commentary. But most of all…I missed Naoto. My Naoto.

We had kept it a secret from the others, at Naoto's insistence. She knew I was going to be leaving that year, and being the ever practical one, she saw no reason to make it public. I think part of her was already broken inside, to have surrendered herself and dropped her defenses, despite knowing I would be leaving anyway. I know that's how I felt. It's been almost a year since I've last seen all of them, in spite of my best attempts to visit. Every time I tried to make the plans, my Father would shoot them down, saying he needed me for some ridiculous or menial task. As I was nearing the completion of High School, Father was trying to muscle me into taking over the Family business. Running a conglomerate is tough, after all. And before my trials of self in Inaba, I would have simply accepted my fate, resigned myself to a life of Stock Options and Bureaucracy. But now I knew what _I _wanted to do, where _I _wanted to go. And it was on one fateful night in September, just before Christmas break began, that I started down a new path: a Path I was certain would lead me to happiness, but that concealed many dangers and challenges I never even imagined...

* * *

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!"

The booming sound of Dahashi Seta's voice echoed through the large high-rise apartment where I lived with my Mother and Father. Father was enraged, practically frothing at the mouth in his crisp and pressed business suit, and had been for the last several hours. Mother was in tears, only her final vestiges of inner strength keeping her from breaking down. She always had hated to see me and Father fight, and our arguments had never been so heated. I stood alone to weather my Father's outrage, calm and unafraid. It was a strange sensation, to face my Father as an equal after quietly indulging him for so long, but I felt no fear.

"I will not have my only Son throw away years of Family Tradition, so he can indulge some foolish fantasy about entering _Public Service_!"

He spat those final words out as though simply speaking them befouled his tongue. Unlike my parents, I was always quiet and self-absorbed; extremely introverted as Naoto would say. However, this night, that introvert was on the wayside. Now I was strong, forceful, and I would not back down from my Father as I had so often in the past, not with the heavy hand of Izanagi resting on my shoulder, giving me courage.

"I am sorry, Father, but this is _MY_ decision, and you have _NO_ say in the matter! I have no intention of taking over your damn company! I _never_ wanted to! I learned a lot while I was in Inaba, and I've had a lot of time to think over the past year. I want to help people, Father! I want to protect people who can't protect themselves. Why can't you see the nobility in that?"

For a moment, the anger seemed to simmer down in Dahashi, and I dared to hope he might consent. Those hopes were dashed when he stepped forward, staring straight into my eyes. For so long, he had seemed to tower over me in his anger. Now we stood eye to eye.

"Get this straight, young man. You are going to learn the family trade, and take over when I retire, and that is the end of it! Stop acting like a spoiled child!"

"I'm not the one acting like a child. I am an Adult now, Father. A thinking, reasoning Adult, and I don't need your approval to take control of my own life! I have nothing else to say to you."

I turned and began to walk towards my room, but my Father grabbed hold of my shoulder and whirled me around to face him, smacking me across the face. It wasn't the first time my Father had hit me, but it was the first time he had done so out of sheer anger. I heard my Mother gasp in horror, but I hardly reacted beyond wiping a bit of blood from my mouth where my teeth had cut my lip. It was almost funny, how weak my Father seemed then, when I had seen him as some insurmountable force for so long. I'd taken harder hits from repressed Subconcious thoughts. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate, confused by my lack of reaction, but the anger continued to boil in his eyes.

"Just who do you think you are!!? How dare you treat me this way!! I raised you for this, trained you!! This is MY house, and so long as you live here, you WILL do as I say!! "

I said nothing while he railed at me, his face beet red with anger. My eyes never broke contact with his, and my face never changed. When he finally stopped yelling, I spoke again, almost too quietly to be heard.

"Keep your Home, Father. I don't need it."

That stopped him. For a moment, the anger left his face, and he expressed only shock. I turned again, and this time he did not stop me. I walked towards my room, to gather what belongings I could, and I saw fear and surprise on my Mother's face. It was almost enough to make me stop, but there was no going back. My decision was made. It wasn't until I closed my room door behind me that I heard movement again. I heard the muffled sound of my parents fighting after that, and the crash of breaking glass, but it soon grew silent.

As I finished packing up my things, I heard the door open slowly. I could tell from the soft footsteps that it was Mother. My hands just kept folding my clothes and packing them into my duffle bag. I might have heard a sob as she watched me.

"You really are leaving. I almost didn't believe it."

Again, I said nothing. It would be too easy for Mother to convince me to stay, to make peace. I just zipped the dufflebag closed, and looked down at it, waiting. My Mother was a lot like me. Or I should say, I'm a lot like my Mother. She was always very soft spoken, but when she did speak, there was always deep meaning in it. Sometimes I wondered if she was always like that, or if marriage to my Father had made her so. Instead of words, I only felt her arms circle around my chest from behind, and tighten. Something in my chest constricted, and my eyes burned.

"Part of me is mad at you for doing this to me, but most of me is Proud of you. You've grown into such a fine man in such a short amount of time. I hardly even recognize you anymore."

"Mother…"

She released me, and I turned to face her. Her eyes were red with tears, but she was smiling.

"I have a hunch about where you'll go, but you will tell me where you are, won't you?"

"I'll call you as soon as I get settled somewhere, Mother."

That seemed to relieve all of her worries. She stepped back, looking me up and down, and her smile widened. The tears were gone.

"Take care of yourself, ok?"

Nodding, I pulled my dufflebag up over my shoulder, and grabbed my suitcase. It wasn't much, but it was everything I needed. As I walked out, I paused only once, to look over at my Father. He was sitting in a lounge chair, his back to me, his attention on a crystal glass full of brandy hanging in his hand. He didn't turn around. I didn't wait for him to.

* * *

Kuji: Whoo, pretty heated there. I thought Souji was gonna bean his Dad. o_o

Anyway, go ahead and comment and review, I need all the constructive criticism I can get, what with this being my first real Fanfic. ^_^

Maybe next time I can actually get Souji to talk, instead of just standing around while I chat.

Souji: ...

Kuji: Lazy bastard. __


End file.
